New Nicaraguan venture

[URRACA]

PriceSmart Announces Joint Venture Agreement for Nicaragua and Agreement for the Purchase of PriceSmart Common Stock
8/9/02




SAN DIEGO, Calif., Aug 9, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
PriceSmart, Inc. (Nasdaq: PSMT, http://www.pricesmart.com) announced today that the Company has entered into a joint venture agreement with PSC, S.A., to form a new company which will establish and operate a PriceSmart membership shopping warehouse in Managua, Nicaragua.

PriceSmart, Inc. will be the majority owner of this new Nicaraguan venture.

PSC, S.A. is the same entity with which PriceSmart had previously entered into a joint venture, for the establishment of the Company's membership shopping warehouses now successfully operating in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras.

In connection with this new joint venture, PSC, S.A. has agreed to purchase 79,313 shares of PriceSmart common stock, at the price of $33.50 per share (which is equivalent to PriceSmart's capital investment in this venture).

"After having observed the Nicaraguan market for several years, we believe that the time is now right for the establishment of our PriceSmart business in Nicaragua," stated Gil Partida, President and Chief Executive Officer of PriceSmart, Inc. "This new market is particularly attractive for us, as we will be able to leverage our existing businesses in the region towards the efficient operation of the planned new store in Managua," added Mr. Partida.

"We have been very pleased with the performance of the PriceSmart warehouses in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as the positive impact that the PriceSmart business has had in the local communities. We now look forward with much anticipation to similar benefits for the consumers of Nicaragua," stated Edgar Zurcher-Gurdian, President of PSC, S.A. "My family is from Nicaragua, and our group's companies are based in Nicaragua. I am very positive that the concept will be as successful in Managua as it has been in our other markets," added Mr. Zurcher-Gurdian.

PriceSmart, headquartered in San Diego, is a volume-driven, membership merchandise and services provider, delivering quality, value and low prices to the rapidly emerging consumer class in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. PriceSmart operates 26 warehouse clubs in 10 countries and two U.S. territories in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia (four in Panama; three each in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and the Philippines; two each in El Salvador, Honduras and Trinidad; and one each in Aruba, Barbados, Guam and the United States Virgin Islands). PriceSmart also licenses ten warehouses in China and one in Saipan, Micronesia. The Company anticipates meeting its revenue goal of approximately $650 million for this fiscal year.